Agroecology aims to maintain ecosystem services by minimizing the impact of agriculture and promoting the use of biological potential. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are elements which are key to improving crop productivity and soil quality. It is pertinent to understand how agricultural management in the tropics affects the AMF spatio-temporal community composition, especially in crops of global importance, such as coffee (Coffea arabica L.). Soil and root samples were collected from three localities under three management systems (agroecological, conventional and forest fragment), during the phenological stages of coffee (flowering, grain filling, harvesting). Spores were extracted for morphological identification and molecular community analysis by PCR–DGGE. Dendrograms were prepared and the bands were sequenced and analyzed by bioinformatics. No differences were observed in the richness of morphospecies between management systems, localities and period, but little is known about tropical species. Molecular analysis showed that the agroecological management system was similar to natural forest and with a higher diversity indices than conventional management. Locality and period of sample affect AMF community composition. It is necessary to associate classical taxonomic evaluations with molecular biological techniques because different approaches can lead to different outcomes. This study contributes to the understanding of the impact of agriculture management systems on AMF and provides evidence that agroecology is a management system applicable to sustainable coffee production.

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Prokaryotes play crucial roles in the rehabilitation process to restore the ecological integrity of disturbed areas. This work reports on the profiles of N-fixing microorganisms and Actinobacteria, from DGGE, the prokaryotic composition from nextgeneration sequencing (NGS) and physicochemical soil characteristics. We compared a deactivated mining site where mining ended about 10 years ago, when the revegetation process was begun (RV), and a reference site, with natural vegetation (NT), both located at Retiro das Almas Mine, in the Quadrilátero Ferrífero region, Minas Gerais, Brazil. In both sites, the most abundant archaeal and bacterial groups included Euryarchaeota, Thaumarchaeota, Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Acidobacteria, and Verrucomicrobia and revealed differences in their ecological metrics and distribution.Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria were most abundant in RV sites, while Acidobacteria and Verrucomicrobia were most abundant in NT sites. Less abundant phyla, such as Bathyarchaeota (Archaea) and GAL 15 (Bacteria) were found only in NT, while Gracilibacteria, Ignavibacteriae BJ-169, and BRC1 were only found in RV. The majority of identified bacterial genera were shared by RV and NT. Soil P, pH, and particle density were most significant (p < 0.05) in RV, while Fe, Ca, organic matter, potential acidity and dispersed clays, were most significant (p < 0.05) in NT, showing differences in soil characteristics, which led the prokaryotic composition in these sites. DGGE profiles of N-fixing microorganisms revealed N-fixing predominance in both sites, although after 10 years prokaryotes diversity increased in RV site. Our results revealed that prokaryotic structure and composition are indicative of RV soil resilience.

O ensino-aprendizagem das Ciências da Natureza e da Agroecologia podem ser contextualizados para contemplar a realidade da escola e motivar o interesse dos estudantes. O cultivo de cogumelos comestíveis é uma alternativa para o reaproveitamento de resíduos agroindustriais e pode ser utilizado no ensino, contribuindo com a formação da juventude do campo. Este trabalho teve como objetivo divulgar o cultivo de cogumelos pela utilização de resíduos agroindustriais na Escola Família Agrícola (EFA) Puris, como ferramenta de ensino-aprendizagem das Ciências da Natureza e da Agroecologia. A EFA Puris está localizada na comunidade de Novo Horizonte, Araponga, MG, e oferece o Ensino Médio integrado com o curso Técnico em Agropecuária, sendo a Agroecologia um eixo importante. Para reconhecer as necessidades da EFA Puris, antes da realização do trabalho, foi organizada uma roda de conversa com os monitores da escola. Foi realizada uma oficina com os alunos do 1° ano do Ensino Médio, que contou com exposição teórica, atividades práticas, uma atividade denominada ‘colocação em comum’ (quando todos partilharam suas experiências e perspectivas com relação ao tema da atividade), e a resolução de um questionário de avaliação. Nos questionários evidenciou-se que conceitos fundamentais das Ciências da Natureza e princípios da Agroecologia, como por exemplo, ciclagem de matéria e energia, homeopatia, decomposição da matéria orgânica, poluição ambiental e alimentação saudável foram assimilados. Conclui-se que o cultivo de cogumelos comestíveis é um tema gerador que pode dialogar com o cotidiano dos educandos, permitindo interação com o ensino das Ciências da Natureza e da Agroecologia. Palavras-chave: Prática educativa; licenciatura e educação do campo; alimentação saudável; Pleurotus   Cultivation of edible mushrooms as a teaching proposal of Natural Sciences and Agroecology in the Puris Agricultural Family School Abstract: The teaching-learning of the Natural Sciences and Agroecology can be contextualized to contemplate the reality of the school and motivate the interest of the students. The cultivation of edible mushrooms is an alternative for the reuse of agroindustrial residues and can be used in education, contributing to the formation of rural youth. This work aimed to promote the cultivation of mushrooms by the use of agroindustrial residues in the Puris Agricultural Family School (EFA Puris), as a teaching and learning tool of Natural Sciences and Agroecology. EFA Puris is located in the community of Novo Horizonte, Araponga, Minas Gerais State, Brazil, and offers the Secondary Education integrated with the Agricultural Technical Course, with Agroecology being a principal axis. In order to recognize the needs of the EFA Puris before the work was carried out, a conversation with the monitors of the school was organized. A workshop was held with the students of the 1st year of High School, which included a theoretical exposition, practical activities, an activity when everyone shared their experiences and perspectives on the subject, and an evaluation questionnaire. The answers to the questionnaires evidenced that fundamental concepts of the Natural Sciences and Agroecology principles, such as cycling of matter and energy, homeopathy, organic matter decomposition, environmental pollution, and healthy eating were assimilated. It is concluded that the cultivation of edible mushrooms is a generative theme that can dialogue with the daily life of the students, allowing interaction with the teaching of the Natural Sciences and Agroecology. Keywords: Educational Practice; Graduate and Rural Education; Healthy Food; Pleurotus   Cultivo de setas comestibles como propuesta de enseñanza de Ciencias de la Naturaleza y de la Agroecología en la Escuela Familia Agrícola Puris Resumen: La enseñanza-aprendizaje de las Ciencias de la Naturaleza y de la Agroecología puede ser contextualizada para contemplar la realidad de la escuela y motivar el interés de los estudiantes. El cultivo de setas comestibles es una alternativa para el reaprovechamiento de residuos agroindustriales y puede ser utilizado en la enseñanza, contribuyendo con la formación de la juventud del campo. Este trabajo tuvo como objetivo divulgar el cultivo de setas por la utilización de residuos agroindustriales en la Escuela Familia Agrícola (EFA) Puris, como herramienta de enseñanza-aprendizaje de las Ciencias de la Naturaleza y de la Agroecología. La EFA Puris está ubicada en la comunidad de Novo Horizonte, Araponga, Minas Gerais, Brasil, y ofrece la Enseñanza Media integrada con el curso Técnico en Agropecuaria, siendo la Agroecología un eje importante. Para reconocer las necesidades de la EFA Puris, antes de la realización del trabajo, se organizó una rueda de conversación con los monitores de la escuela. Se realizó un taller con los alumnos del 1er año de la Enseñanza Media, que contó con exposición teórica, actividades prácticas, una actividad en la que todos compartieron sus experiencias y perspectivas sobre el tema, y la resolución de un cuestionario de evaluación. En los cuestionarios se evidenció que conceptos fundamentales de las Ciencias de la Naturaleza y principios de la Agroecología, como por ejemplo, ciclo de materia y energía, homeopatía, descomposición de la materia orgánica, contaminación ambiental y alimentación sana fueron asimilados. Se concluye que el cultivo de setas comestibles es un tema generador que puede dialogar con el cotidiano de los educandos, permitiendo interacción con la enseñanza de las Ciencias de la Naturaleza y de la Agroecología.  Palabras-clave: Práctica Educativa; Licenciatura y Educación Rural; Alimentación Sana; Pleurotus.

Coffee crop in Brazil is typically grown as a monoculture. However, we hypothesized that agroforestry system is favorable association for arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), affecting its community structure and potentially impacting crop productivity and agroecosystem health. This study evaluated how the microclimate, soil depth, macauba field spacing and distance between coffee plants and palms affect the structure of the AMF community. The structure of the AMF community was influenced by the soil depth, microclimate features, soil moisture, maximum air temperature, and photosynthetically active radiation (PAR). The distance at which coffee-macauba influences ecological diversity indices of AMF, and higher diversity are related to the proximity between plants. AMF diversity (Richness and Shannon) in the agroforestry system exceeded that observed in the full-sun coffee in the 0-20 soil depth layer. Our results showed that the microclimate, soil depth, plant density, and distance between coffee from macauba affected the AMF community structure.

Restoration of degraded sites by using native plants like Plathymenia reticulata Benth. and Melanoxylon brauna Schot. is advisable. However, seedlings of both species, when raised on commercial substrates, may present low survival. This study aimed to evaluate the growth of seedlings under inoculation with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). The seedlings were raised on soil sampled from near an adult plant of the same species. The P. reticulata and M. brauna seedlings were grown with or without the inoculation of a mix of three species of AMF (Rhizophagus clarus, Claroideoglomus etunicatum, and Gigaspora albida), and five doses of P (0, 50, 150, 300, and 450 mg dm -3 of P). All seedlings were inoculated with Bradyrhizobium sp., isolated from each species. After 90 days, P. reticulata inoculated with AMF showed higher growth and nutrient content than those uninoculated, and the maximum plant growth was obtained when received 160 to 280 mg dm -3 of P. On the other hand, no effects of AMF inoculation or phosphate fertilization were observed on M. brauna. For both species, no effect of inoculation was observed on mycorrhizal colonization, and M. brauna, unlike P. reticulata presented a considerable number of nodules. We conclude that inoculation with AMF and P fertilization improves the growth of P. reticulata seedlings but does not promote the growth of M. brauna; presenting the necessity to investigate each species.

A natureza exploratória da ciência fornece um contexto único para grupos acadêmicos preocupados com a responsabilidade social. O Núcleo de Estudos em Microbiologia Agrícola (NEMA) é uma organização brasileira de estudantes de microbiologia da Universidade Federal de Viçosa (UFV). Neste artigo, examinaremos a trajetória de seis anos do NEMA e como ele contribuiu para a popularização da microbiologia, bem como para a formação profissional dos alunos de pós-graduação.

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